April is National Poetry Month! This website offers such a fun way to introduce kids to poetry. It provides free lessons and activities that will inspire the poet in your child. This site is designed with classroom teachers in mind, but most of the content can be tweaked for homeschool use as well.

When you get to the site you’ll see a selection of featured items in the center of the screen and a menu on the left that you can use to navigate through topics such as:

Poetry Class – Use these easy-to-follow instructions to learn how to write funny poems in no time at all. Write poetry about feelings, songs, seasons – and learn to write limericks and haiku too.

For those who are learning how to write poetry or limericks this is a terrific tool to have handy. You just type in a word and in seconds you’re provided with a list of words that rhyme with it!

When you get to the site simply type in the word you want to rhyme, hold down the “alt” key on your keyboard, and use your mouse to click on the word you just typed. A list of rhyming words (with from one to multiple syllables) appears on the right side of the screen.

The only drawback is that the rhyming words that are generated appear in white font making them difficult to see. Use your mouse to highlight the words in order to get a better view.

The amazing teacher and internet lesson provider Mr. Donn has collaborated with artist Phillip Martin to bring students, parents, and teachers this extensive archive of PowerPoint lessons and activities on every facet of Language Arts.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of free presentations in PowerPoint format and interactive online lessons and games that includes:

Click on any one and a new page opens with a menu of PowerPoint and Interactive Lessons on that topic for a variety of age/grade ranges along with tips for educators as well. Then, click on a topic of interest and a new page opens that launches the program.

The Ambleside Primary School faculty and fourth-year students created the free language arts games and activities on this site.

The literacy portion of this site appears in two sections as follows:

I. When you get to the site you’ll see the word “Literacy” and below it a menu that includes short “Click-On” activities as follows:

*Interactive spelling worksheets– Click and drag the missing letters to the blank spaces where they belong to complete the words.*Proverbs – Click and drag the first and last parts of each proverb to place them together.

*Adjectives, Nouns, Verbs, and Prepositions – Drag each word into the correct category.

*Word Finder – Given a word, see how many smaller words can be made from its letters.

*Sentence Sorter – Put the words in order to create a sentence that makes sense.

II. Below the above menu, click on the words “Ambleweb Literacy Page” to find:*Look, Cover, Write, and Check – A customizable spelling list. You look at the word, then click “cover” and type the word from memory. You will be informed whether you got the word correct or not.

*Word Games and Quizzes – Create stories, limericks, or haiku. Work on vocabulary, spelling, reading comprehension, and more!

*Best Internet Resources – A long list of recommended links for further Language Arts learning and practice. (We did not review these links, so parents, as always, should preview the sites and supervise Internet use).

Bookmark this website and also use it for math, science, art, geography, music, just for fun and more! There is even an “infant zone” for the very young.

We have featured this website in the past, but it offers such a fun way to introduce kids to poetry it’s worth visiting again! It provides free lessons and activities that will inspire the poet in your child. This site is designed with classroom teachers in mind, but most of the content can be tweaked for homeschool use as well.

When you get to the site you’ll see a selection of featured items in the center of the screen and a menu on the left that you can use to navigate through topics such as:

*Read & Rate – Find a selection of poems on topics such as summer fun, birthdays, yucky poems, love poems, food poems, scary poems and many more. Read the poetry and then rate it on the giggle meter.

*Poetry Class – Use these easy-to-follow instructions to learn how to write funny poems in no time at all. Write poetry about feelings, songs, seasons – and learn to write limericks and haiku too.

The amazing teacher and internet lesson provider Mr. Donn has collaborated with artist Phillip Martin to bring students, parents, and teachers this extensive archive of PowerPoint lessons and activities on every facet of Language Arts.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a menu of free presentations in PowerPoint format and interactive online lessons and games that includes:

Click on any one and a new page opens with a menu of PowerPoint and Interactive Lessons on that topic for a variety of age/grade ranges along with tips for educators as well. Then, click on a topic of interest and a new page opens that launches the program.

But wait, there’s more! This website offers PowerPoint and Interactives for every subject. You heard me. Go to the home page and see for yourself at: http://www.pppst.com/index.html

This is one of the most comprehensive resources I’ve seen for free learning material. Who says you can’t homeschool for free?